'I'm happy': Elgin woman reaches her 106th birthday, and she says she doesn't know how

One hundred and six years old.

Erna Truemper of Elgin never imagined she'd live to such an age.

“No, no, adamant no,” she said Wednesday on the eve of her 106th birthday, her words reinforced by animated hand gestures suggesting she's just as surprised as anyone.

But with a great-grandmother who lived to be 92 and a grandmother who lived until 96, it was kind of in her genes.

“I had some relatives that reached a pretty good age, but I never thought I would succeed them,” she said.

Truemper, now a resident in the nursing home of Highland Oaks in Elgin, was still driving at 92 and lived independently until she turned 100.

“I don't know what the trick is or the secret,” said Truemper, who has been in the hospital only twice in her life - for the birth of each of her children.

Staff members at Highland Oaks don't know her secret, either. They're just happy to have their oldest resident around.

“She's just a delight,” said social services assistant Jan Smith. “You'd never guess her age.”

Truemper was born and raised in Aurora in a German community, attending school and church at St. Paul's Lutheran, where she later worked as church secretary for about a dozen years. She was married to her husband, George, who died in 1989, for 53 years. They had two children, a son, David, and a daughter, Janet Zimdahl.

Zimdahl, who lives in Elgin, sees her mom as often as COVID protocols allow.

Truemper said she has memories dating back about as far as kindergarten. She remembers the iceman delivering blocks to the icebox, playing jacks on her front sidewalk steps (“we had cement steps, so we had an excellent way to play jacks,” she said) and having to turn a crank on the phone to make a call.

Her memories span 100 years of changes in the way people live, travel and communicate.

“I think waiting in those days was a lot easier,” she said.

Truemper remembers sending letters back to relatives in Germany that would take weeks to get there and then weeks more to get a response. On Thursday, she'll chat via FaceTime with a granddaughter who now lives in Germany.

“Things have changed a little bit,” she said.

As 106 approaches, she's outlived all her oldest friends. “I have lots of friends here, but I wouldn't say they're close friends at this age,” she said.

She also doesn't have any real vices and says she doesn't have a favorite food, proudly proclaiming, “I'm not a fussy eater.”

What she does have is a lot of fond memories.

“When I look back, I think I've had a good life,” she said. “Not a rich life. I didn't come from a rich family. But I came from a good, solid-thinking family.

“I'm happy.”

Truemper still reads the newspaper every day. After the interview and photos, she was told she would be in the paper the next day. Her response?

“Wow, that's going to be weird.”